I have this dent on the fender of my car. Based on its location, will a fender replacement be necessary? The rest of the fender is in such good shape. All the used ones in my area need patches. Any thoughts?

 

Wow, looks like "Bondo Betty" had a really good time in the past. Just how far back to you think the crease or damage extends? Being a nut case and having metal working tools I might try to straighten it out after removing it. Unfortunately, even with the necessary tools and skills one is never going to get away from having to use some body filler, and you can see the long term results of that being done.

It will be a faster repair and better to buy a new or good used fender. If you by a salvage one have it bead blasted and epoxy primed before repaint.

 

Thanks for the feedback. What you see is the extent of the damage to the crease. The damage on the side may extend back another inch. Wouldn't be such a tough fix if the crease wasnt involved. I'm gonna try to find a good used one in my area.

 

Ok, seems to be that your car likes getting smacked in the same place more than once. The original repair (can't tell how much damage) appears to have more than just a little filler. That usually means that the previous damage may not have been repaired as well as it should have been.

Replace?? No way. A good bodyman can fix this fender without too much trouble. Might have to shrink the metal a bit after beating it back into shape, but I'd rather have the original part than go with a whole new aftermarket fender. It will take more time because you have to re-establish the compound body line from the top to the side of the fender. Cost wise, it might be as much or more than the cost of a replacement panel. (FYI a new panel will still have to be fitted, sanded to metal, primed and then painted). Get a good man on this and you won't be disappointed.

When it's done right, there should be almost no bondo on the fender; it's only used to give the final contour and even out very minor imperfections.

FOR RIGHT NOW, clean up that surface rust and paint it with anything that will keep oxidation from going any further until you can get it fixed. The repair needs to be sealed on both inside and outside of the fender when it's done.

 

Given the amount of bondo in that fender, how do you know the rest of the fender is in good shape? Normally that damage would not be hard to repair, but it looks like there is quite a bit of bondo in the rest of the fender. Sheet metal work hardens. Every time it gets bent, it is more difficult to straighten.

 

Strip it to find the full extent of the old damage and then let your body man make the call. This is may a 5-6 hr conventional repair, but some of us get a little crazy when it's a classic car involved. An aftermarket fender might require a couple of hours just to get it to fit properly on top of the replacement cost, so in most cases it'll still be cost effective to repair this damage. It'll need to come off though to work it from the back side. Good luck!

 

That does not look like it should be too hard to repair. Remove it and see what else is hiding. You should be able to tell easily once its off. If that is all of I am guessing repair would be the best bang for the buck. Rust in the bottom corner would change that in a hurry though.

 

Yeah, there is no rust at the bottom. Found a few in my area posted for sale, but all need patch panels... I think I might try the repair.

 

Repair all the way...besides, changing the fender will also require blending hood and door if the car is base/clearcoat, for color match. If it isn't clear, the problems get more complicated, and that's just with paint...

 

The car is gonna get another paint job next year. I the previous owner had an acrylic paint on there. I'm going to sand it down, block and prime over the winter. It should be ready for a nice base\clear in the spring

 

Then my point is moot!

 

I appreciate your input though. the ability to color matchis something that could have been easily overlooked when doing the repair. I think I want something dark. I really like the color on your car. What color is that?

 

It's not the original color. My original color was yellow...I custom mixed the color myself. Very close to a color offered on olds then. Ford code B4 Chestnut Pearl. I added more copper pearl to the formula. Thanks for the compliment...